Hey — It's Nico.

This newsletter contains:

• 5 resources for founders.
• 5 startup news.
• 1 failed startup.
• 1 hot startup.

Reminder: Today at 5 PM CET, we're hosting a free 45-minute masterclass in which we'll be improving one of your pitch decks.

If you're raising funds, then this masterclass is perfect for you. Save your spot here →​

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PartnerHero is a customer operations outsourcing company built for the needs of startups, from seed to scale. Let us help your brand build financial resilience and extend your operational runway without sacrificing quality with flexible, affordable, high-quality outsourced customer ops.

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What to read this week?

🧵 A thread on how Nico Jeannen launched an app 3 months ago and sold it for $65K.

✍️ Viviano Cantu shares his learnings from launching his AI chrome extension on Reddit.

💡 A simple guide explaining how to fine-tune GPT for your particular use case.

👂 Sam Parr and Shan Puri discuss what happened with the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.

📊 The 17 action items that helped Brett Adcock sell his company for $100M.

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What happened this week?

🙌 After Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, The Federal Reserve assured full protection of its depositors.

👀 OpenAI releases GPT-4, its most powerful AI model.

📉 Y Combinator lays off employees and discontinues late-stage startup funds.

🔪 Meta is laying off 10,000 employees in their latest round of staff cuts.

🚀 Yaletown Partners closes innovation growth fund at $200M.

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Failed startup story: Protonn

Protonn, an Indian-based digital solutions startup, ceased operations in January 2022 despite raising $9M in seed funding a few months earlier.

Protonn aimed to provide a platform for independent professionals to launch their own businesses online, create videos, conduct live sessions, create payment solutions, and track their performance.

The funding was to help expand the team, launch new products, and continue product development.

In between the lines:

According to the Indian Times, Protonn was unable to find a suitable product-market fit, and the founders didn't agree to pivot the business towards another line. As a result, the startup shut down its operations and returned capital to its investors.

Lessons learned:

Communication and misalignment between the two founders seemed to be the major reasons Protton failed.

The founders were unsure about the company's strategic direction following their inability to identify a suitable product-market fit. If there is no product-market fit, even a good idea will struggle to gain traction in the market.

There are 3 ways to measure product-market fit when running a startup:

1. Sudden market pull: Rapid demand increase through word-of-mouth; customers willing to pay, new features requested.
2. Gradual market pull: Demand grows steadily over time, reaching a critical mass; partnerships and customer loyalty spread the word.
3. Milestone proof: Major proof point that the product is working, such as a major corporate client or product used in public.

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Hot startup of the week: Bach

​Bach, a US-based party planning app, has secured $9M in a Series A funding round led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital.

In between the lines:

Bach plans to use the funds to expand beyond its current niche of bachelorette parties and become the go-to platform for all types of group travel.

Bach’s CEO and co-founder, Mike Petrakis mentioned, “The idea is two-fold: let’s dominate this space first, and then let’s start to branch out to become the destination for any group that wants to go have fun on a weekend.”

The company is also launching a web marketplace, which will make it easier for users to find and book experiences.

Lessons learned:

Bach has done a great job identifying a real problem that bachelorettes face and created a solution that addresses it. Coordinating group activities can be a hassle, and Bach's app simplifies the process by allowing users to plan, book, and split expenses all in one place.

Moreover, while the company started as an app for planning bachelorette trips, the company has recognized that there is a larger market for group travel and activities. Bach has dominated their niche and is now expanding.

Dominating a specific market first is essential for a startup because it allows them to gain valuable insights about their customers' pain points and preferences and build a strong brand identity.

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What do you think of today's newsletter?

• ​🔥 Great​
• ​😒 Meh​
• ​👎 Not interesting​

Cheers,

Nico